The Passion of the Christ
Rent & Buy
A graphic portrayal of the last twelve hours of Jesus of Nazareth's life.
What critics thought
DivisiveMel Gibson's account of the final hours of Jesus lands squarely in mixed territory with critics — widely praised for its visual seriousness and Gibson's unflinching commitment, but just as widely condemned as excessively brutal, theologically thin, and troublingly antisemitic in its depiction of Jewish figures. The film's popular audience embraced it far more warmly than professional critics did, and the antisemitism debate — which exploded again after Gibson's 2006 arrest — has remained inseparable from how the film is discussed.
“a serious, handsome, excruciating film that radiates total commitment”
Richard Corliss·Time
“What Gibson has provided for me, for the first time in my life, is a visceral idea of what the Passion consisted of. That his film is superficial in terms of the surrounding message—that we get only a few passing references to the teachings of Jesus—is, I suppose, not the point. This is not a sermon or a homily, but a visualization of the central event in the Christian religion. Take it or leave it.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“a two-hour-and-six-minute snuff movie”
David Edelstein·Slate
“the most virulently anti-Semitic movie made since the German propaganda films of World War II”
Jami Bernard·New York Daily News
“too turgid to awe the nonbelievers, too zealous to inspire and often too silly to take seriously, with its demonic hallucinations that look like escapees from a David Lynch film; I swear I couldn't find the devil carrying around a hairy-backed midget anywhere in the text I read”
Robert Wilonsky·Dallas Observer
Accolades
Genres
Drama
Cast & Crew
Mel GibsonDirector
Jim CaviezelJesus
Maia MorgensternMaria
Christo JivkovJuan
Francesco De VitoPedro
Monica BellucciMagdalena
Mattia SbragiaCaifás
Toni BertorelliAnás
Luca LionelloJudas
Hristo ShopovPoncio Pilato
Claudia GeriniClaudia Procles
Fabio SartorAbenader
Giacinto FerroJoseph of Arimathea
John DebneyComposer
Gingger ShankarComposer
Caleb DeschanelCinematographyThe Passion of the Christ
A graphic portrayal of the last twelve hours of Jesus of Nazareth's life.
What critics thought
DivisiveMel Gibson's account of the final hours of Jesus lands squarely in mixed territory with critics — widely praised for its visual seriousness and Gibson's unflinching commitment, but just as widely condemned as excessively brutal, theologically thin, and troublingly antisemitic in its depiction of Jewish figures. The film's popular audience embraced it far more warmly than professional critics did, and the antisemitism debate — which exploded again after Gibson's 2006 arrest — has remained inseparable from how the film is discussed.
“a serious, handsome, excruciating film that radiates total commitment”
Richard Corliss·Time
“What Gibson has provided for me, for the first time in my life, is a visceral idea of what the Passion consisted of. That his film is superficial in terms of the surrounding message—that we get only a few passing references to the teachings of Jesus—is, I suppose, not the point. This is not a sermon or a homily, but a visualization of the central event in the Christian religion. Take it or leave it.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“a two-hour-and-six-minute snuff movie”
David Edelstein·Slate
“the most virulently anti-Semitic movie made since the German propaganda films of World War II”
Jami Bernard·New York Daily News
“too turgid to awe the nonbelievers, too zealous to inspire and often too silly to take seriously, with its demonic hallucinations that look like escapees from a David Lynch film; I swear I couldn't find the devil carrying around a hairy-backed midget anywhere in the text I read”
Robert Wilonsky·Dallas Observer
Accolades
Genres
Drama
Cast & Crew
Mel GibsonDirectorJim CaviezelJesusMaia MorgensternMariaChristo JivkovJuanFrancesco De VitoPedroMonica BellucciMagdalenaMattia SbragiaCaifásToni BertorelliAnásLuca LionelloJudasHristo ShopovPoncio PilatoClaudia GeriniClaudia ProclesFabio SartorAbenaderGiacinto FerroJoseph of ArimatheaJohn DebneyComposerGingger ShankarComposerCaleb DeschanelCinematographyRent & Buy